Canadian Police Record Question

[lorca 0]

My wife, a Korean citizen, is applying for a CR-1 to the US and we need a police record from Canada... she lived in Toronto for a couple years.

We are currently in Korea and want to find the fastest rout to gaining a record. The fingerprint check is, apparently, taking many

months these days.

We would like for her to fly to Toronto, visit a police office, and get a clearance letter. However, we need to confirm that this will work and that the US Embassy will accept it instead of the fingerprint check. Do any of you have thoughts on this?

The US Embassy in Seoul, of course, will not take questions via phone or email.

I wrote to the Toronto Police and received a confusing reply:

I'm going to refer you to the RCMP for this information. It is a federal

function rather than municipal.

We can provide a clearance letter based on photo identification that states

that a person with that name has no Criminal Record. It is used mainly for

employment or volunteer work. Toronto Police does not take fingerprints for

this purpose and therefore it is not sufficient for Immigration.

The RCMP authorize private agencies to take fingerprints to obtain such

letters and the list can be obtained from them.

"not sufficient for Immigration" is pretty damning... is he correct?

Edited October 29, 2007 by lorca

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

My wife, a Korean citizen, is applying for a CR-1 to the US and we need a police record from Canada... she lived in Toronto for a couple years.

We are currently in Korea and want to find the fastest rout to gaining a record. The fingerprint check is, apparently, taking many

months these days.

We would like for her to fly to Toronto, visit a police office, and get a clearance letter. However, we need to confirm that this will work and that the US Embassy will accept it instead of the fingerprint check. Do any of you have thoughts on this?

The US Embassy in Seoul, of course, will not take questions via phone or email.

I wrote to the Toronto Police and received a confusing reply:

I'm going to refer you to the RCMP for this information. It is a federal

function rather than municipal.

We can provide a clearance letter based on photo identification that states

that a person with that name has no Criminal Record. It is used mainly for

employment or volunteer work. Toronto Police does not take fingerprints for

this purpose and therefore it is not sufficient for Immigration.

The RCMP authorize private agencies to take fingerprints to obtain such

letters and the list can be obtained from them.

"not sufficient for Immigration" is pretty damning... is he correct?

The Toronto Police take 10 days to mail out a letter. You are faster to try any local Canadian Police force (Vancouver, etc.) or in the Toronto area, Peel Region does it while you wait. Most police forces will run the name and DOB through the CPIC. If your wife has never been charged or arrested or convicted then this should be fine. The fingerprint check is probably better from overeseas unless she has a real need to come to Canada. She could try to contact the Canadian embassy in Seoul and see if they can help her. Most overseas requests require a fingerprint check or copy of the fingerprints for most police services.

[Krikit 1,165]

You only need the RCMP fingerprint check if you have a criminal record. The police certificate IS sufficient for immigration.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

The police record is fine but it must say it is a "Canada wide" check. Those are the magic words. In addition, if you call RCMP they will also do the check for you at a local office as long as you call ahead of time and make an appointment. My fiancee was so worried about it we stopped and got the RCMP one on the way to Montreal.

[trailmix 77]

I think it was Schmelle who was in the States and just sent her police search request to Winnipeg as they will do it via mail.

It would be worth sending them an email to check it out - also the info on mailing in a request is here: Criminal Record Search - Winnipeg Police

Edited October 29, 2007 by trailmix

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

You only need the RCMP fingerprint check if you have a criminal record. The police certificate IS sufficient for immigration.

Absolutely. For some reason, the Toronto police, last time I checked, require fingerprints even for clearance letters for overseas requests. They, apparently aren't the only force to have this requirement. When I sent away to Scotland Yard for my parents' police clearances, they didn't require fingerprints so this doesn't make any sense to me. If Lorca's wife is coming to Canada then I would have her go to Peel Regional Police since they do background check while you wait. The Toronto police has a nicer looking letter though.

[misa 2]

Try calling these folks in Toronto: http://www.commissionaires.ca/offices/toronto.html

They take 5 days to get back a Canada-wide name check. They are the ones in Toronto authorised to perform RCMP checks. Not sure if they will do it from overseas but if you have the time and money for her to go to Toronto, then ask them what ID she will require going in person and if she can get it mailed back or if she has to wait to pick it up.

Edited October 29, 2007 by misa

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

IFSC will also get you the RCMP letter for $35. They also do fingerprints in Toronto for $60. Their website is www.policecheck.com. I think they do overseas checks but you should confirm this.

[Reba 2]

Actually, I believe that for former residents, whether or not they have a criminal record, the fingerprints check is required, not just the name and DOB check.

RCMP or the Commissionaire's can do that for you. She can probably have the 10 card done at her local police office in Korea and then mail it to the RCMP for them to run the check.

[trailmix 77]

Actually, I believe that for former residents, whether or not they have a criminal record, the fingerprints check is required, not just the name and DOB check.

RCMP or the Commissionaire's can do that for you. She can probably have the 10 card done at her local police office in Korea and then mail it to the RCMP for them to run the check.

I think you may be right Reba, based on the reciprocity schedule here

Outside Canada: Applicants who are not physically present in Canada must obtain a Certified Criminal Record Check by sending a duplicate set of fingerprints (taken by a local police force) to the RCMP. Fingerprint submissions must include the following: etc etc

I wonder if anyone has successfully submitted the name check only, from outside the country and been successful with that?

[Flames9_RN 358]

I posted the link a few months back to the Winnipeg police force to an individual that was out of Canada. Not sure if he was successful or not.

[trailmix 77]

I posted the link a few months back to the Winnipeg police force to an individual that was out of Canada. Not sure if he was successful or not.

Yes, that was Schmelle and she was successful in getting it via mail.

Edited October 30, 2007 by trailmix

[lorca 0]

Thanks for all the advice!!! we're going to pursue a couple of courses and see what we get.

I don't know if the US Embassy in Seoul will accept a clearance letter of countrywide name search instead of a fingerprint check, so we're going to request both and see which we get in time for our interview.

The Toronto Police notified us that they are able to accept requests for clearance letters by mail, with two pieces of ID. It says applications can only be made in person on their website, but they said differently in email.

[Reba 2]

Most folks in Ontario have just gone to the Commissionaire's to have their police check done. I didn't know any municipal police office in the GTA would do it.

[knowledge 0]

My wife, a Korean citizen, is applying for a CR-1 to the US and we need a police record from Canada... she lived in Toronto for a couple years.

We are currently in Korea and want to find the fastest rout to gaining a record. The fingerprint check is, apparently, taking many

months these days.

We would like for her to fly to Toronto, visit a police office, and get a clearance letter. However, we need to confirm that this will work and that the US Embassy will accept it instead of the fingerprint check. Do any of you have thoughts on this?

The US Embassy in Seoul, of course, will not take questions via phone or email.

I wrote to the Toronto Police and received a confusing reply:

I'm going to refer you to the RCMP for this information. It is a federal

function rather than municipal.

We can provide a clearance letter based on photo identification that states

that a person with that name has no Criminal Record. It is used mainly for

employment or volunteer work. Toronto Police does not take fingerprints for

this purpose and therefore it is not sufficient for Immigration.

The RCMP authorize private agencies to take fingerprints to obtain such

letters and the list can be obtained from them.

"not sufficient for Immigration" is pretty damning... is he correct?

The Toronto Police take 10 days to mail out a letter. You are faster to try any local Canadian Police force (Vancouver, etc.) or in the Toronto area, Peel Region does it while you wait. Most police forces will run the name and DOB through the CPIC. If your wife has never been charged or arrested or convicted then this should be fine. The fingerprint check is probably better from overeseas unless she has a real need to come to Canada. She could try to contact the Canadian embassy in Seoul and see if they can help her. Most overseas requests require a fingerprint check or copy of the fingerprints for most police services.

I don't know if all they wrote to you is correct: Canada police certificate is standard for all the stuff: visa, work, etc...the only thing is that the local or RCMP have to be equipped to do the allover Canada checking (which is found in the instructions for PC).

As for the embassy, i don't know about the Canadian embassy, but i lived in Paris for 9 months and i called the French embassy where they told me they don't do PCs, i had to write directly to France for it (and US instructions gave me the link of the adress in France (for all countries), with the documents required and France send it to me the same day they received my request. Another point is i lived there 9 months, as US requires it if lived 6 months, so i still had to produce it which delayed my completion of a month.

Oh, and if she does not have a criminal file, she doesn't need a fingerprints check. Otherwise, i believe she needs to come to Canada to do them in person.